20 AUG 2019; APOEL - Ajax; CL Playoff Round

[Orange14]

Ajax travel to Cyprus for a Tuesday match against APOEL to see which team moves forward to the group stage of the Champions League. Ajax had a physically difficult match on artificial turf against VVV yesterday and Ziyech was seen walking with difficulty following the match. ten Hag rotated three positions yesterday and is still trying to decide on a starting 11. It was good to see Alvarez on the pitch as he adds depth to the team in the MF and on the back line. APOEL will play difficult football in the home match and Ajax need to get off the mark and not concede a silly goal.

[souras84]

I can't see us not conceding... We'll just have to score at least 1

[Orange14]

UEFA has said that VAR will be used for the Playoff Matches. Mateu Lahoz of Spain will be the CR for the first match with Spanish ARs and VAR. I think he called one of the Ajax CL matches last spring. He's a decent referee.

[Ayman]

No Dolberg (Obviously), Promes injured. While Neither Magallan nor Labyan. Good news is, Noa Lang is in the squad. Last time Ajax played APOEL, It was 2014 I believe? 1-1 away and 4-0 at home.

[souras84]

Nothing less than getting through to the CL group phase is acceptable. Apoel isn't a team that should beat us.

[Orange14]

Match will be carried live in the US on the TNT cable channel!!! Some of you who still work for a living may have sneak out for a couple of hours.

[kezme44]

sweet! thanks for letting us know orange14. i was definitely going to watch on an illegal stream,but glad i can follow the legal, HD picture route :)

[Orange14]

sweet! thanks for letting us know orange14. i was definitely going to watch on an illegal stream,but glad i can follow the legal, HD picture route :)

We only have to hope that our pal Amol won't watch the match. He seems to bring good luck when he doesn't.

[Amol]

sweet! thanks for letting us know orange14. i was definitely going to watch on an illegal stream,but glad i can follow the legal, HD picture route :)

We only have to hope that our pal Amol won't watch the match. He seems to bring good luck when he doesn't.

This is so tough. But don't worry, I'm at home and will sit on my lucky chair to bring us luck. Also as luck would have it, I have no meetings from 3p-5p today. If things do start going downhill, I promise to turn the tv off.

[rjf1]

A clean sheet and two away goals is what I'm hoping for in this leg - that should set us up very nicely for the return match.

[kezme44]

sweet! thanks for letting us know orange14. i was definitely going to watch on an illegal stream,but glad i can follow the legal, HD picture route :)

We only have to hope that our pal Amol won't watch the match. He seems to bring good luck when he doesn't.

i've had an OCD routine for last season's CL knockout stage which i'm too embarrassed to explain, and it worked pretty well until the 96th minute again tottenham, so these things never work out eventually so sit back and enjoy the game Amol.
set my vacation out of office notification to go out at 3 pm so i'm not bothered. will try to catch the return game while i'm in europe. actually got tickets for the fc copenhagen game on saturday so will see our old pals fischer and boilesen play.

[Amol]

Starting lineup -
Onana, Mazraoui, Veltman, Martinez, Tagliafico, Marin, Van de Beek, Blind, Ziyech, Tadic, Neres

Subs -
Varela, Schuurs, Alvarez, De Wit, Huntelaar, Lang, Dest

[Amol]

sweet! thanks for letting us know orange14. i was definitely going to watch on an illegal stream,but glad i can follow the legal, HD picture route :)

We only have to hope that our pal Amol won't watch the match. He seems to bring good luck when he doesn't.

i've had an OCD routine for last season's CL knockout stage which i'm too embarrassed to explain, and it worked pretty well until the 96th minute again tottenham, so these things never work out eventually so sit back and enjoy the game Amol.
set my vacation out of office notification to go out at 3 pm so i'm not bothered. will try to catch the return game while i'm in europe. actually got tickets for the fc copenhagen game on saturday so will see our old pals fischer and boilesen play.

. Last year, I could either be watching from my desk at home or from my boss's office at work.

[SPL]

Hope for a win but will take a draw.

[Orange14]

Interesting that Lang is on the bench. I guess it's his versatility as he can play on the wing or in MF.

[Amol]

They're blocking the middle of the park and forcing us to the wings. We picked up 3-4 yellow cards in a matter of minutes.

[Orange14]

Looks like ten Hag wants to play things conservative and not give up a counter. He has Blind dropping back to play left defense with Martinez in the middle and Veltman on the right. I suppose it is because APOEL are playing with two strikers. APOEL is really packing everyone back in and Ajax are having trouble penetrating. I suspect this is a game for Huntelaar to come in as a striker is needed. Silly YCs by Mazraoui, Veltman, and Marin. the Spanish official always calls a tight game (he called the Ajax - Tottenham away game last year). this game could very easily end up 0-0.

[kezme44]

apoel will totally score soon

[Van basten]

Our worst game in Europe in two years. Happy, that we got draw, but it's gonna be dangerous game in Amsterdam.

[SPL]

Terrible game lucky we got a draw. Mazraoui a complete idiot. If we play like this next week will be out but surely we cannot play as bad!!

[Orange14]

ten Hag opted for a conservative approach to the away match against APOEL by keeping a back three of Blind, Martinez, and Veltman when Ajax had the ball in the APOEL match. He got part of his wish in that thanks to two excellent saves from Onana, Ajax did not concede. However, neither Marin or Mazraoui were up to the task of being the sole play maker in the MF and both picked up first half YCs and Mazraoui was sent off with a reckless challenge in the second half. Ajax played much better when they were down to 10 men and surprisingly the Cypriot team did not press their advantage. Ajax created a bunch of half chances that were blocked before getting to the keeper and the one shot that beat the keeper late by Huntelaar was soft and easily cleared off the line.

It was very disconcerting to see all the YCs picked up. Ajax should really know how the CR is going to call the game and Mateu Lahoz of Spain called a very good and tight game just as he does in the Spanish league. Ajax should have done their homework.

Player Ratings:

Onana (8) - excellent saves to keep the clean sheet
Tagliafico (5) - could never deliver the needed cross or penetrating pass
Martinez (6.5) - best of the back line
Veltman (4.5) - Schuurs despite his youth has to be the first choice
Mazraoui (3) - no excuse for getting sent off
Marin (4) - was marooned by himself as a playmaker by the tactics and not up to the job
Blind (4) - more horrific passes than I've seen from him in a single season
van de Beek (4.5) - totally bottled up by a clogged defense
Neres (4) - had little clue about what needed to be done
Tadic (5) - could not unlock things tonight
Ziyech (5) - a few decent passes but he had to drop way back to get the ball and his corners were only so=so
Dest (5.5) - one miscue on defense but a great scramble when APOEL were on a break away to keep the man from getting a shot off
Huntelaar (5) - on late and gets a mark for getting a shot off on what was his first touch of the match

APOEL are not a very good side and it was disappointing that Ajax could not break them down. They will have a full house in Amsterdam next week to help lift the team. No match this weekend as the FA has given Ajax the weekend off to prepare and given the way the team looked tonight they will need it.

[Amol]

Is it just me or is Nous generally not very good playing in MF? I've always heard that he's really a mid-fielder who's playing RB. But I've never seen him play a single half decent game in there.

This game also brought back memories of 4-5 years ago, where Veltman is in charge of starting play. There wasn't anything good which I really saw in this game besides the fact that we didn't concede any goals.

EDIT: One correction - Onana did have a really good game and definitely saved a sure goal when he dived to his left on a low hard shot.

[souras84]

Mazraoui. WHAT A FUCKING IDIOT. It's not the first time he played that bad. Remember last year in Rotterdam. And this year, he seems like he's been hypnotized. When he was placed in the MF, I told my friends who where watching the game with me (none of them Ajax fans) that he'll be getting a red. And he did. For no reason. There were 3 other players in front of him.

Anyway, I don't think and I hope I'm wrong, that he will become smth special. Reminds me of a multitasking Van der Wiel...

We could have won, we could have lost. Let's all be happy we didn't lose. We were awful. At least we are playing ONLY for a win next week. I will be ashamed if APOEL goes through

[SPL]

Every game so far I just think we need a quality RCD and an effective MF.Martinez and not Blind as mf seems a better bet but Marin does not impress at all. As for Cd Schuurs makes mistakes every game,Veltman is a not a CD and Alvarez seems like he is a midfielder rather than defender.

If we dont get through next week questions will be asked by fans. Magallan 9m but hopless signing ,Marin 12m but at present no better than Gravenberch or Taylor 2 x 17 years in Jong Ajax.

[Orange14]

Looking at the statistics, Ajax had 75% of the possession, most of it in the APOEL half and out shot the Cypriot team.

I think ten Hag is trying to fit a bunch of round pegs into square holes. While he has a much deeper squad than last season, there are players who just don't fit into the positions he wants them to play. I have no problems with Schöne's transfer to Italy. At this stage in his career he can not play a full 90 minutes on a team that relies on pressing all over the field. I never thought that he was a quick decision maker passing the ball but his free kicks rank with the best in Europe and maybe only Messi is better.

Blind, while a great passer of the ball, is not quick enough defensively to play in the MF. Unfortunately, he is also not as good defensively as Martinez who has taken over the LCD. Marin came into the team with a strong reputation but is he really a DM? Last night he was marooned in the MF by ten Hag's tactics. It was difficult for him to get the ball from the back three or the two FBs and when he did, double teams appeared very quickly. It has to be noted that things were not any better when Mazroui moved into that position.

We were spoiled by the sudden rise of de Ligt and replacing him was always going to be difficult. He was able to cover up for MF mistakes and was always a force to score on free kicks into the box. Yes, Magallan appears to be a waste of money but who was to know this ahead of time? He played RCD for one of the top teams in South America. Veltman would have left the team two years ago had he not injured his cruciate ligament. He's neither a RCD or a RB (remember Ajax paid good money for van der Hoorn several years ago when Alderweield left because they needed to fill that gap but Veltman beat him out). Schuurs is tall, good on the ball and much stronger this season. IMO he is the only possibility at RCD. Alvarez is a very good player for his NT and former club but he is not a CD. He is a DM or potential RB but we already have Mazraoui and potentially Dest at that position.

I'm not sure what the solution is right now. the only constants are the front 3/4 (I include Huntelaar), and van de Beek in attack. Onana at keeper and Tagliafico at LB. I would probably add Martinez at LCD to that group. In retrospect, rescheduling this Sunday's match may not have done ten Hag any favors as he has no opportunity to experiment with alternatives.